Mating Season

Target Practice

Stacked in neat rows were wood cut outs of werewolves. The edges were uneven and jagged. Whoever had cut these pieces obviously didn't give a crap about the appearance or perhaps they really saw werewolves that way. Faces were painted on each one, always with big devil-like eyes and large canine teeth. Cecilie stared and winced. She couldn't picture Asher as any of them.

"Do you like them?" Her grandmother asked, smiling sweetly. She was still dressed in her dress and apron, carrying a loaded weapon on her back. "I had an old friend of mine make them just for your arrival."

"They're nice," she stated, ignoring the fake wolves penetrating gaze. They were all judging her with narrowed eyes. If Asher knew the truth he would kill your grandmother, the faces said. And then he would come after her.

Her head was dizzy with the idea. She swallowed and hastily looked away. "So what's all this for anyway?" She avoided eye contact with anyone.

Without warning, the werewolf figurine beside her shattered into a million wood splinters. Cecilie jumped back and stared at the headless animal, then at the woman who had fired the shot.

With a sadistic smile, her grandmother waved the gun. "Target practice."

***

The sounds of gun shots were still ringing in her ears by the time third period rolled around. Her grandmother made her do a number of drills: running, dodging, and shooting. She wasn't particularly good at any of it. When midnight finally rolled around, she allowed Cecilie time to sleep before school. "Never let your guard down by a dog," the woman sneered. "They will bite you  right in the ass."

She certainly couldn't tell her one of those "foul beasts" wanted her ass, but not in the way her granny imagined.

Cecilie jumped when the bell rang, signaling the end of class. She dropped her folder into her backpack and swung it over her shoulder.

Pigtails waited outside her classroom, all smiles.

"If it isn't my favorite human."

"Don't you have other souls to collect?" Cecilie asked as they strolled along the halls. "Any other human girls willing to mate?"

"No, Cece. You're just special."

She frowned. "Don't call me that."

"Fine. Fine." Pigtails sighed and used long strides to keep up with Cecilie. "Why won't you mate with him?"

Cecilie stopped. She hadn't asked so bluntly. "Why won't I mate with him?" Her eyes were wide in disbelief. "Because there has to be more to my life than fucking werewolves and having cubs."

"Asher is one of the privledged families," Pigtails explained. "Its an honor to mate with him. You will receive the title, the money, his absolute admiration. What more do you want?"

Cecilie turned. "Freedom," she muttered over her shoulder when the late bell rang before rushing to fourth period.

***

There was something she wasn't telling him, Asher concluded with a frown. That had to be the reason she wouldn't mate with him.

She rejected him. Again. Finally everything was going perfect and she had flung him to the side like a discarded tissue. Did she really think she could just walk away that easily?

He frowned. There was something off about that grandmother too. He had only seen her a couple of times in town. To any human, she seemed like a happy elder, but to a werewolf there was much more. Her steps were assured, and whenever anyone came up behind her, her stance went rigid. It was like she was preparing for some unknown fight, an unseen war. He wondered if somehow the grandmother was the reason Cecilie wouldn't become his.

Asher stopped pacing and looked down the hall. He could hear Landen, one of the twins, typing away at the computer. If there was anyone who was good at snooping, it was Landen.

He knocked on the door.

"It's open," Landen called. Asher took a step in the room and watched as his brother closed a window on the computer screen. He whirled around in the office chair, and raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"I need you to gather some information on Cecilie's grandmother."

Landen debated this for a second, then nodded. "Okay."

Asher smiled. Landen was such an easy going kid. He was like a soldier in a field. Does the work without asking questions. He was a boy of composure at the young age of fifteen. It sometimes worried Asher that something might be wrong. Landen and Lucas were twins, yet polar opposites.

He turned back to his computer. "Won't your mate get mad though?"

Asher blinked, not expecting to hear a response. "No," he said easily. "I've already decided that I want her. If something is even a little off in that house, I'll have no choice but to steal her away."

Okay, I feel seriously bad for having such short chapters that I decided I'll be making another story on one of Asher's brothers finding their mate! =D I won't say which one (take a guess!) but I've already started the first draft and I absolutely love it. I hope you guys will too.